Kopak’s Hunt 2: KMES Search and Rescue
Prologue “KRRT….One small step for a toa..KRRT…..One giant leap…KRRT…for matoran kind….KRRT” “Oy quit your show-boating and get back into the ship!!!” Toa Kopak, currently floating in orbit around the endless ocean planet on a space walk, leader of the large organization KMES, Now first toa in space. In the last few weeks he’s been faced with a lot of troubles; Villanous toa, Rahkshi, zombies; but his mind does not rest on those past happenings. His mind is fixated on what the future holds. The future of the Tehktra nuians and the future of his organization. He and the remaining KMES members paired with a former enemy, Zoruxx are headed for Jadax Magna in a desperate mission to help any survivors. A mission of Search and Rescue. Using Axorla Nui as their transport they are headed toward their destination as we speak. Chapter 1 Kopak drifted back to the ship, once known as Axorla Nui. His tether was drawn back and he returned to dock with ,toa Zoruxx ready to recieve the great space pioneer. "So icicle, how was it like to be the first member of the matoran race in space???" "Aqua Magna looks so beautiful from up here. Like a glistening blue marble in the vast emptiness of...." "Geez!! I didn't ask for a life story!!! Anyway we need you back at central controls; its about time we resumed the mission" "Alright. Begin the atmospheric de-compression of the airlock so we can remove our helmets" Zoruxx went up to the wall and flicked a few switches and soon precious oxygen began filling the chamber, producing a marvellous hissing sound as it did. After de-compression was complete, the two removed their helmets and the doors ahead of them spilt in two automaticaly to reveal central command ahead. The room itself was a wash of silver and white and was all very neutral and asthetically modern. The walls were lines with neon green screen and the KMES members were alll at the screens montioring Axorla's progress. The whole thing was technology of a extremely high calibre "All this technology is too over bearing if you ask me, Zoruxx. Is a simple door where you have to push to hard to ask??" "Can it snow-man! I can get enough of it." Zoruxx inhaled "The sweet smell of beautiful machinery. Just how I like it!!" Kori, who was manning one of the computer screens, swiveled around on his chair to see Kopak and Zoruxx before him. "Ah, commander Kopak! How was it out there, it the bleakness of space then??" "Great views, thats about it. Status report??" "We're crusing at about 17,000 mio per minute and all systems seem stable. But there are minor issues. Some of these readings and alerts are of not comprehendible by the lot of us. They are far to complex. Sometimes I wish Yeq were here" "I'm sure those may be insignificant, since the ship seems to be wethering fine. Carry on Kori" "Yes, sir" Kopak and Zoruxx continued walking down the room, observing the masses of technology surrounding them. "Now what ice-cube??" "Now what???...Now we head to the planet that Kopek informed us about....and were gonna be quick about it. Those guys aren't gonna die in vain, and I am not gonna stop searching till every single one of them are brought to safety" Kopak walked into the center of the room and buckled into the commander's chair. "Everyone, fasten up, the mission begins now!!!! Kori lock sensors on the Sonic reciever signal that Kopek sent me; Matu, Zeb start thrusters so we can leave the crusing speed. This is gonna be one hell of a ride!!! All systems go!!!" Axorla Nui rocketed forward at backbreaking speed, hurtling toward Jadax Magna at an unimaginable rate. Chapter 2 "Groan.....What happened....Did we make it???" Kopak slowly regained conscientiousness to be surrounded by darkness. He clutched his face to realize that his mask no-longer rested there. In a mild panic he began feeling around to get an awareness of his surrounding to find he was still at the commander’s post. Suddenly a large clunk was heard, though not in his immediate surroundings. The ceiling above him began to flicker, before white light filled the room, temporarily dazing him. "Rise and shine Ice-cube!!" Kopak rubbed his dazzled eyes to see Zoruxx with his hands around a large lever, and all the other KMES operatives out cold at their positions. "Zoruxx? What happened??" "In was a rough descent. You wusses passed out due to the high pressure," Zoruxx slapped his chest " We iron fellows are a lot more durable. Anyhoo, It was I who had to man the ship during the hell-storm, whilst you ice-heads were catching zzzs" Kopak, unbuckled himself from his seat and placed his hand on Zoruxx's shoulder "Well kudos to you Zoruxx!! Good to have you on the team!!" "Oh yeah, the ship was badly damaged during atmospheric entry........nothing I can't fix though. Also here's your Eliki" "Where did it go?" "It fell off after you passed out,*Cough*Wuss*Cough*" Kopak snatched it out of Zoruxx's hand, and then went to reawaken the other members. Zoruux went over to inspect some of the matoran's status screens when a small porthole caught his eye. "Hey snow-cone!!! Get a load of this!" Kopak came over and, he too, gazed out of the window. The world they witness was none like their own. The surface was desolate and de-hydrated, and the arid earth screamed death. Carcasses were strewn about the place and foreign carrion feeders circled the air above the fractured texture of the planet. The air was a thick, musty yellow and the faint silhouettes of the suns were just visible. "That’s encouraging" Kopak smirked uneasily. Suddenly a flash of green sparks and electricity flared behind them, startling the two. They turned round to the the matoran KMES members standing before a gaping hole in the machinery, with the green sparks flickering from it. Kopak ran to the assembled members "Is every one okay? What the heck happened here?" Kori replied," Every one's fine but the neon green machinery panel seem to be damaged. But why the outbursts of the electrical charge happened, I is a mystery to me...." Fahu interrupted,"We may be all in one piece, but where in karzahni is Matu??" The group looked amongst each other but Matu was nowhere to be found. During this little conundrum, Zoruxx seemed to be interested in something else. The gaping gash in the machinery. It was not a new piece of damage but happened recently; probably during the descent to the planet. Zoruxx wanted a closer look at what was within the machinery but it was a far too dark to see anything. On his suit, he activated a small, shoulder mounted robotic arm with a miniature LED light at the tip. It extended into the gap and began systematically moving from left to right "Hmmph....nothing in here but circuit boards and transistors..." The light continued panning through until amongst the circuit boards until is revealed a glowing Iden was staring back. "ARGH!!!" Zoruxx yelled with shock and stumbled backwards to the floor, damaging the robotic arm. The rest of the group turned to see what the heck had just happened. Kopak helped Zoruxx up. "What is it???" "m-m-m-m-ma-ma" Zoruxx was still riddled with shock "Spit it out man!!" "Mask!!" "What??" "A mask!! A kanohi! An, an, an, an Iden!!! Staring at me?? In the mechanics!! With green energy pulsating around it!!" "What?? Where? Let me see this mask" He too went over to the gap and using his ice powers like a mirror, reflected light into the gap. Once again the glowing iden was there, perfectly still staring back. "Holy mata nui!!" Yelped Kopak, taking a few steps back. The rest of the matoran and Zoruxx came to inspect the mask. Though the mask was glowing the lights of the eyes were dimmed. Zoruxx, wearily, reached out to touch it. At the very point of contact the eyelights blasted green energy at Zoruxx, throwing him across the room, and the rest of the machinery around collapsed from the wall. The mask was not single entity. It had a body to boot. Before them stood a toa of white armour, with pulsing green energy in between. The toa stepped forward to see the group all staring at him. "Why are you guys all looking at me like that??" The voice was so unbelievably familiar. Queg stepped forward. "Matu?? Is that you?" Chapter 3 "What do you mean is that you??? Of course it’s me Matu!!" He down upon his neon green body, and was immediately shocked "Holy muaka!!! I'm, I’m I’m, glowing! I’m tall! I’m, I’m a great toa hero!!!" Across the room Zoruxx lay injured on the floor, still smoking from the energy blast. He raised himself to his knees to see the toa standing around the matoran and Kopak. "So, thats how you want it huh??" He began summoning his element. "I'll show ya how Zoruxx does it!!" Electronic panelling began tearing off the walls and flying toward Matu. Zeb turned around to see the shrapnel flying toward them. "Everyone hit the deck!!!" The metal panel struck Matu and the panel began wrapping around him. "Zoruxx!! Stop!!," yelled Kopak, "Its Matu!!! He'll surely be killed!!" The metal plates enveloped Matu and began constricting his body. Then suddenly, in a flash of green energy the panels disintegrated; to reveal Matu surrounded by a glowing, green orb. Matu, from a rather defensive, recoiled position, looked up to see himself safe from harm, surrounded by the green energy. "Woah," he said, clearing his throat and relaxing himself,"That was close.....and where the heck did this force-field come from??" Zoruxx guiltily approached Matu "Ooh, um...sorry 'bout that," he rubbed the back of his head ", Heh, heh....won't happen again" "Never mind that," interrupted Kopak," But his question was a good one; where did that force-field come from?" Upon uttering the words a small sensor had emerged on Kopak's suit and began feeding information to his brain. "Whoa, that’s one heck of a sensation", said Kopak, almost stumbling. After a moment to regain balance he began processing information. "These sensors indicate..." he paused "...That your body is giving off masses of unstable radiation" Matu was about to freak before being stopped by Kopak. "The radiation isn't harmful. In fact, it’s what produced that orb of energy" Matu looked down to his glowing surface. "Whoa, so I'm indestructible??" "I wouldn't say destructible," said Kopak walking away," You have about the defensive power of a kanohi Hau" He reached the main computer across the room. "Computer, perform task; run CCTV footage.....I want to get to bottom of how this happened" Searching relevant content................*...........*..........*......*........*......*.....* Content found...Performing playback The others grouped in front of the massive screen. Playback showed the rough re-entry and the camera's vision was often distorted due to falling machinery. It also showed most of the Members delving into sub consciousness. To the right of the screen a strange glow began surrounding the machinery in Matu vicinity. The group leaned forward. With a brilliant flash of fluorescent green light Matu was dragged into the machinery before him. KRTXTKTXTKKTXKKTXXTKTTXKKXX Static flared on screen Video stream disrupted.........attempting to re-locate data "Don't bother. We know enough" He turned to Matu "Welcome to toa-hood brother" Chapter 4 Kopak sat in the commander's chair on an elevated platform, swirling a hip flask. He took a strong swig from it. He breathed in. The smell of industry. He hadn't smelt the stench since he left his home island of Tehktra Nui. All around him, the matoran were hard at work under Zoruxx's command. Kopak brushed the back of his head, took another swig and clipped the flask to his waist. Kopak was feeling pretty out of it. He had given Zoruxx a crate of Capture Cubes and a plethora of different Upgrade Disks all stored in another Capture Cube. Near infinite storage. Kopak had always carried it with him since he had first joined KMES and had constantly added to the collection within. In side were various tools, weapons, equipment, raw materials and several others items, even including MVTs. It had been his fail-safe in case a worst case scenario was to occur. He figured that would be now. He stepped down from his platform and began walking down the room, inspecting the matoran's work. Kopak had tasked Zoruxx, and by extension the matoran to prepare for their expedition unto the planet. Specifically, he wanted Zoruxx to be able to create a series of adaptable battle armour for the Members to be able to wear. If they were going to be fighting for their lives, they were going to be prepared to do so. Plus, Kopak always enjoyed a bit of an upgrade. Kopak continued to walk down, congratulating the members on the hard work. Kopak always felt it necessary to acknowledge people for their work. What use is making good job of something if you receive no recognition for it? Kopak reached the end of the room and turned back before panning around. "Strange," He thought,"Where is Zoruxx?" A wrench slid to his feet. He picked it up and turned it to its user. "Here Zeb, I think you dropped it" "Oh, I hadn't noticed. Thanks Kopak" "Do you know where Toa Zoruxx is?" "Yeah he's...." Zeb looked around "Well, he was here a few minutes ago. I haven't a clue where he is now" Kopak looked down at what Zeb and a few matoran next to him were working on. They were tinkering on the inner workings of an MVT. "Why are you altering the engine? I'm sure these worked fine" "Yeah maybe on Tehktra Nui, but not here. The MVT draws its energy from energy transmitters that were located at the Energy Fields. I presume the fields are destroyed as the things definitely aren't working. Its a darn shame that these aren't Hover-Tech. Self propulsion would have been alot simpler to work with" "Well, keep at it Zeb" He said, tapping him on the back, before walking back up to his platform. He sat back down and called Matu over to him. "Yes sir?" "Get closer" "Um..Ur..alright.." Kopak put his hands on Matu's shoulders, with a very firm clasp, and looked rigidly, straight into his eyes. He chuckled. "Heh, heh...I remember when you first joined KMES. So young and innocent" Matu smirked. Kopak looked down upon his comrade, energy pulsing through his vessels. "Your powers are strange....." "They seem to be mainly lasers and this strange neon-ish energy. Its weird, I can't access any ice powers or my kanohi" "Be grateful you have what you have.........and that you aren’t running the largest search and rescue mission since the Great Rescue......still, they didn’t have to go as far as us, did they?......never mind, I digress, I digress" "I always did want to create an icy fist like the ones you used to make..." "You have something I could never have" "What's that?" "Your own element. I dub you Toa Matu, Toa of Neon!" "The name needs work" "Deal with it" Kopak looked over to the matoran, hard at work. He sighed. "Matu. You have to protect the matoran. As Toa it is our responsibility, nay, duty to protect these matoran at all costs. Even if that means taking our lives. You got that?" Matu tensed up, shoulders cocked. "Sir, Yes sir!" Kopak released his grip from his shoulders. "You're gonna make one heck of a toa" He smiled with confidence. He looked back over the the working matoran. "Now go Matu, get busy!" "I'm on it, commander" He said, before running back to his equipment. Kopak turned and stared at the far wall. He wasn't sure of it, but he felt as if he could feel mild vibrations from its direction. He squinted whilst stepping of his commander's platform. Before his eyes the wall was sliding into a niche in the floor below to reveal an additional chamber, cloaked in neon green mist. The KMES members nearest to the wall filed away and stepped back to a safe distance. Kopak stepped forward, then reached out and activated his Energy Sword. He signalled to Matu to step forward with him. "Get behind us" He said sternly. The group watch unwaveringly until the green fog cleared, and what was revealed was nothing like they had expected. There stood Zoruxx, surrounded by a fleet of vehicles that none had ever seen. Zoruxx clicked his knuckles. "Lets take this Planet by storm!" Chapter 5 Metallic protodermis was cold on the skin. As if he wasn’t accustomed to the cold. The armour wrapped and clamped around his ankles; wrists; abdomen; neck; blood-chilling, as it was. He removed his Eliki, in favour of a blank, featureless helmet, without the courtesy of even eye-slots. He clenched his fists; the sonorous, metallic crunch was a most satisfying sound; and began to blindly release his inner-most toa energy. Within moments the armour had picked up on the fluctuation, and was instantly stimulated. Power began rippling through every fibre of his being, producing, not only pulsing heat, but a fantastic electric blue, and the armour began to sink into, and fuse, with his own flesh. As the helmet began to tighten around his neck, the darkness before him excited with electrified particle, like fire-flies in the night. These particles began to merged, till a clear heads up display was present. A section of the helmet’s surface began to ripple, before becoming seemingly intangible, reveal a familiar fe-toa face. “Can you hear me in there?” said the toa holding his hands to either side of the helmet. “Loud and clear-“ he was interrupted by a voice that echoed within his own skull. “''Artificial-robotic-tele-integrated-system- in online. ARTIS activated''” “An AI?” “I went all the way brother” The friendly voice chuckled “Let’s bring the fight to where these brakas live. Search and rescue baby!” “''Mata Nui guide us''” Kopak muttered to himself **** Kopak stood clad in his new suit, alongside Zeb, Queg, Fahu suited in a similar fashion, Zoruxx and Matu. Before them were the fleet of the MVT:ATVs; manned and ready for action. Kopak hopped up onto a slightly raised platform, and raised the screen from his helmet. After a moment’s pause, he turned to speak. ---- “My fellow soldiers,” His voice was raw and the usual level headed tact his voice pertained was absent,” I’m not going to lie. Some of us may not make it through this final mission. We have lost so many already from our clique.......from our race...... from our friends. Some of us have witnessed our own companions die before us; fate is a brutal mistress. And for what?!” He paused only to wipe a single bead of sweat from his brow. “The matoran race has done nothing but serve for the will of our world! We are the foundation that kept the society in our universe as it is! We as KMES have done nothing but to serve, protect and defend; sworn never to attack outlandishly or to cause acts of war or genocide. Not once have we stepped out of this rigid structure.......I had hoped we never would. But till now what have we gained in return??” He drove his fist into his other palm in rage. The impact echoed throughout the atrium. He stared out, through his fleet, all who were hanging onto his every word. His voice turned to a whisper. “''Nothing''. Hatred for us remains. Pain for us remains. Tyranny for us still remains. Persecuted by those different from us, and those who oppose out values. But you know what? The matoran race always stands strong. Though faced with all problems, with whatever is taken from us, we remain the same, level headed, hardworking, conservative species we have always been. Our morality has stayed strong, without the need for sinking to their level- -''But they crossed the line''. They took our home. They took our land. They took our resources. They took our friends. They took everything. Our conservative stance can no longer be enough. They came to us; to our homes; and stripped us of everything. Now we’re taking it back......and by mata nui, we’re gonna spill as much blood as possible” The crowd was ecstatic, abuzz with excitement. He glanced at Zoruxx, who nodded in approval. “Let’s go all the way brothers! Let’s bring the fight to where these brakas live! We’re taking back our friends! We’re taking back our comrades! We’re taking back our dignity! For mata nui!” “'For mata nui!'” The crowd returned “We’ll be kickin’ ‘em right in the daddy bags! We shove off in 15 mins; make some final armaments. Get some closure” ---- Kopak walked off and turned to himself, final mental preparations before his final hurrah. The words of his speech were racing in his head. His thoughts were disrupted by the suit’s AI. “''I strongly suggest you undergo camouflage protocol 31:ab''” “Zoruxx?” “Whats up?” Zoruxx came up to him “Does protocol 31:ab, mean anything to you?” “Yes! I didn’t think the protocol was functioning. We don't what in mata nui's name is out there, I we can assume there's gonna be hostiles. Anyway, the protocol gives your armour the guise of a native creature on the planet. Cm’ere" He grabbed the helmet sides again and put his face up to the screen. "Run protocol 31:ab" "Commencing planetary scan" The HUD screen within the helmet was abuzz with a plethora of data values and figures before stopping suddenly on a random 12 digit number. "Randomly selecting.......Selection hard-wired.....Crustan specimen.....Commencing suit re-configuration" In a strange sensation, the entire body of the armor had altered itself to a thick, hulking shell encompassing a large domed structure in place of a helmet. "Well, that wasn't odd" after a quick assessment of himself he turned to Zoruxx still in his basic armor. "Zoruxx? Aren't you coming brother? This is gonna be one to remember" "Nah, ice cube. I'm gonna sit this one out. Beside I need to mend this massive thing, so we can get home. And i'm not leaving you blindly out there in the storm. I have all the MVT-ATVs hooked up to an interface, including your suit, which I access here, so I can be with you guys in the action" "Alright then" "One more thing" "Yeah?" "Good luck out there brother" he said holding out a fist. Kopak smiled and returned the fist-bump. "Um, Kopak, Zoruxx?" Zeb interjected The two scrambled up to him. He was staring a radar-esque screen, which was picking up a massive array of data. "Holy muaka......" to be continued Characters *Kopak *Zoruxx *Several other KMES members *Kori *Yeq (mentioned) *Matu *Zeb *Fahu *Queg Category:Stories